The present invention relates to a contact block forming a part of an experimental construction kit for assembling circuits from electrical and electronic construction elements.
Contact blocks of the above-mentioned general type are known in the art. A known contact block has a plurality of contacts which are arranged at regular intervals from one another, and leads can be brought into contact with these contacts. In the known contact block, the contacts of each contact junction point or contact unit are arranged in line, one behind the other, and at relatively large distances from one another. A great number of contact units is necessary in such a construction, in order to produce a versatile contact block. This results in that a very large contact block is required because of the widely spaced arrangement of the contact units. Also, the functional clarity of a circuit which begins on the contact block, suffers because of the wide spacing of the contacts of the contact unit and thereby the spacing of the leads of the electrical construction elements, which leads are arranged at the same contact units. As the construction process of the circuit progresses, it becomes more and more difficult, despite the respective marking of the associated contacts, to locate the region of a contact unit and thus the available connection point for further leads of the construction elements.
Insertion of several leads into a single contact which is made correspondingly larger, is not possible because of the varying cross-sectional dimensions of the leads. In addition, the leads may be twisted during previous application. The known contacts usually are composed of two spring tongues which are resiliently directed toward one another, and the leads of the electrical or electronic construction elements are introduced therebetween. Even a small deviation in the cross-sectional dimension of the lead of one construction element from that of another construction element impairs the contact of the lead with the smaller cross sectional dimension. Especially in electronic circuits, it is particularly important that the electrical contact guarantee an efficient transmission of current in order to avoid disruptive influences on the circuit.